Meet a few of our foster carers
Kevin &Jilly's Story
Kevin and Jilly have been foster carers for about 15 years, 10 with their local authority and the last 5 with us.
They started fostering when their oldest child left to go to university, and had 2 teenagers left at home (and 3 dogs). They wanted to foster whilst they still had 2 of their children at home, because their children really wanted to do it.
They wanted to start with younger children, so there as an age gap between the children they fostered and their own children, this they feel helped children settle into their home as there were no comparisons to make – and because their children were a bit older they could help out a lot.
They had a sibling group of 3 living with them for the past 4 years, and the kids should be with them until they become adults.
Jilly says “I just love the energy children bring to our household – no our birth children have grown up the house needs that
Angela's Story
Angela knows what it’s like to grow up in a disruptive family – she didn’t have the easiest upbringing, so is really passionate about giving young people a change.
She specialises in parent a child placements, which is when you don’t just foster a child, you actually foster their parent as well. Usually this is a mother and her baby, and the mum is generally aged 15-20, however she has had a mother who was in her 40’s.
It’s a different skill set than mainstream fostering, as it’s more about teaching how to be a mum, than doing the care yourself.
“It can sometimes be a bit of a rollercoaster, but there is nothing better than knowing the support I’ve put in means a mum keeps her baby”.
Vijay and Ankita's Story
Vijay and Ankita have been foster carers for just over 2 years. It took them a little while to take their first placement, as in their own words they were a bit nervous. But we didn’t rush them, we knew they would eventually build their confidence through our support, training and by connecting with other foster carers.
They now have a teenager in placement who they are doing great with. They’re able to support her education and are working on building her confidence and belief in herself.
“We’re just so happy seeing someone who was so sad when she came to live with us blossom into a confident young women”
Keith's Story
Keith became a foster carer after 25 years working as police man. In his own words, there isn’t much that can shock him. When he retired from the police, he really wanted to continue to help his community, and his mum had in fact been a foster carer, which is why he thought about it.
He was worried what people would say about him fostering as a single man, but has been bowled over by the positive support everyone he knows has given him. He decided that he specifically wanted to foster refugees after coming into contact with a lot of them during his work as a policeman.
“These children suffer the worst trauma both in their home land, but also on their journey to the UK, they’re good kids, they just need a new start”
book a call about fostering:
We’d be happy to give you a 15-20 minute call to tell you about fostering. Don’t worry, there’s no pressure from us – it’s honestly a chance for you to ask us any questions you have about fostering, and your suitability. Just complete this short form
